Jesse GunkelClub reporter
The Great Plains 4-H club’s health class took a tour of the Kansas City Fire Department and MAST dispatch, as well as the 911 call center.
Kim Ussen and Neal Wilson took the health class around the fire department and answered any questions the class had concerning fire and rescue, emergency dispatch and 911 calls. They first toured the classroom, in where new employees are trained. Next, the club went to the conference room for questions and answers about MAST dispatch throughout the greater Kansas City and Missouri vicinity. Then they went out to the garage where all the ambulances and fire trucks are kept, cleaned, resupplied and maintained.
While in the garage, class members toured an ambulance, learning about the employees who man the ambulance and their capabilities on a emergency call. Everyone got to see where all the equipment is stored in the ambulance and how it was used.
They learned that the ambulances would go out and stay in gas stations until they got a call. Two people will go out in an ambulance, a paramedic and an EMT. The paramedic is qualified to give the drugs to a patient. Once the sick patient is stable, the other person will drive them to the hospital. The last part of the tour was the 911 emergency call room. In that room, there are 10-15 computer desks with the telephones, computers and a TV.
The 911 calls operator has a script they follow to answer emergency questions. They will ask where to send an ambulance if needed. They will put the location in one of their computers, and send a waiting ambulance. The TV at their desk lets them check the news stations to follow what happened, for instance if a severe weather report has been issued through the 911 station, the newsmen will report it.